I was 12-years-old the first time I went to Womad. I cried when my parents told me that I had to go with them.
My 12-year-old self despised the thought of spending three days listening to World music and dancing with dirty looking, harem pant-wearing people. But obviously, I had little say in the matter and had to go anyway. To my surprise, I loved every minute of it and vowed to one day return to the quirky and eccentric New Plymouth festival. But I would never submit to the harem pant wearing culture.
Fast-forward to 2014 and now aged 21, I decided fulfill that vow by attending Womad’s tenth anniversary festival. I packed my sleeping bag, left my shoes at home and prepared to forget to shower for the next few days. Despite the looming presence of Cyclone Lusi, myself and 44,000 others made the long journey to the - very far away from everything but very beautiful – Taranaki region for a weekend of music, art and culture.
For those who haven’t heard of it, Womad is a three-day music festival that allows you to experience all that the world has to offer without leaving our own backyard. International music, dance, food, and art are all a big part of the experience at Womad. This festival that also tours Australia, Europe, the UK and Russia continues to grow every year and from my experience at Womad this year, it is easy to see why.
This year Womad offered an unreal selection of acts – more than 300 artists from over 20 countries. Some of 2014’s standout acts included country blues performer Pokey Lafarge, Bhangra fusion band Red Baraat and bootleg ‘cut-up’ act DJ Yoda.
Even more impressive than the number of artists was the diversity of the acts. At Womad there are no two acts the same. Whether it be the Zimbabwean tribal chants Mokoomba or the Japanese funk musings of Osaka Monaurail, you’re guaranteed to develop a new appreciation for some fairly obscure music genres. Part of the magic of Womad is that you don’t necessarily need to know the acts to have a great time. By the end of it you’ll be dancing along with every bongo drum, ukulele and fiddle and wondering why the heck you don’t listen to Jewish Crunk-Core and Chinese Bluegrass more often.
Another unique and pretty awesome thing about Womad is the diversity of people who attend the festival. Unlike many music festivals, Womad does not aim to attract one single age group or type of person. Of course there are the usual hoards of twenty-something ‘eccentrics’. But just as common are toddlers, retired folk, sulky teens, and everyday mums and dads. Everybody really gets involved in the festival and somehow barriers between the usually separate groups in society are broken down to create one big melting pot of musical goodness.
Along with being a unique and totally kick-ass festival, Womad has also become a major platform for the promotion of social and environmental issues. This year hip hop group Arrested Development rapped about African American social struggle; Afrobeat legend Femi Kuti shared his views on African politics; and Arab songstress Emel Mathlouthi shared of her experiences of being a rebel Tunisia’s 2010 revolution. Sustainability was also a focus of the festival, with volunteers manning recycling stations throughout the festival to help achieve the festival’s goal of producing zero waste. Ironically oil giant Shell was the principal sponsor of the sustainability project, but that’s a story for another day.
Overall the weekend was a massive success, with many raving that this year was the best Womad yet. The huge crowds and electric atmosphere made it feel like almost everybody was there. Everybody expect Cyclone Lusi that is. Luckily Lusi had prior commitments and couldn’t be fagged coming all the way to little old New Plymouth to rain on the parade of us festival-goers. So to the relief of the revelers who suddenly realised that harem pants are not actually waterproof, only minimal amounts of rain fell. The dancing continued, the music played on into the night and Womad 2014 turned out to be a cracker.
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